There are many different methods for brewing and/or steeping beverages, such as coffee or tea. For example, coffee can be brewed by circulating hot water over coffee grounds through a filter (continual extraction; peculation methods) or by pushing steam or pouring hot water over coffee grounds through a filter (single extraction; espresso and drip methods).
In other methods beverages are steeped. For example, coffee or tea is steeped by placing coffee grounds or tea leafs in water, usually heated, for a predetermined period of time. The extracted coffee or tea is then removed from the expended coffee grounds or tea leafs by pouring the steeped beverage over a filter. In the case of a French Press, a filter is pressed through the steeping liquid within a steeping container to hold the expended coffee grounds or tea leafs on the bottom of steeping container while the steeped liquid is poured into a cup.
It is well recognized that the quality, the flavor and the strength of a steeped beverage, in addition to the quality of the raw materials used, depends on the steeping time and the quality of the filter used. Currently available beverage steeping systems make controlling the steeping time difficult, often have poor filters and can be difficult to maintain or clean.